January 6 2015 Astronomy Newsletter

Hi everybody

Here's the latest article from the Astronomy site at BellaOnline.com.

Top Five Dubious Astronomy Stories 2014
Have you read about the Top Ten Astronomy Stories for 2014? This article is complementary to it. Here's my choice for the top five debatable stories of the year. They were widely reported, but there isn't really enough evidence to accept their conclusions.http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art300604.asp

*Happy Birthday, Stephen Hawking*
Stephen Hawking was born on January 8, 1942. Although he's not an astronomer, his work on black holes has had an impact on astronomy.

*Happy Birthday, Royal Astronomical Society*
The Royal Astronomical Society in London was founded on January 12, 1820. So it will be 185 years old next Monday.

*Comet Lovejoy*
Comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) is now visible in northern hemisphere skies. This Comet Lovejoy is not to be confused with any of the four previous discoveries made by Australian comet hunter Terry Lovejoy. He discovered this one last August, but it moved northward and brightened in December. Other people that I know have seen the comet. However when I went out to look this evening, what had been a clear sky was full of clouds. Grrr.